Jaxon Smith-Njigba Cleared for Seahawks at Broncos

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is good to go in Denver. The Seattle Seahawks receiver was a full participant in Wednesday's practice and carries no game designation on the final injury report, clearing him for Thursday Night Football at the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.

That is the biggest available box Seattle can check on a short week. Smith-Njigba tweaked the ankle against the San Francisco 49ers, showed up as limited on Monday and Tuesday estimates (the club did not hold full practices those days), then practiced fully before the trip to Colorado.

Macdonald's short-week green light

Coach Mike Macdonald put Smith-Njigba and defensive tackle Leonard Williams in the same breath. Williams is also playing through an ankle and has no game designation after being listed as limited again Wednesday. "Those guys are ready to play," Macdonald said. "Looked good."

Seattle is 3-2 and defending a Super Bowl title on Prime Video. Losing Smith-Njigba for a night in altitude against a thinned Denver secondary would have flipped the whole script. Instead the reigning AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year stays in the plan.

Through five games he has 37 catches for 583 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, per the Seattle Times, already ahead of his 34-534-2 pace through five last season. His 583 receiving yards lead the league, and his 15.8 yards per touch lead the NFL as well. Fantasy managers who sweat every designation can breathe. Stream him like the alpha he has been all year.

Who Seattle is missing

Starting linebacker Drake Thomas is out with the ankle he injured against the 49ers. He returned and finished that game, then missed all three days of Week 6 prep. Tyrice Knight starts in his place. Macdonald said he does not yet know Thomas' status beyond this week and called him a tough cookie for finishing Sunday. Backup linebacker Chazz Surratt is also out, and Zach Charbonnet remains out while the club works through his ACL return timeline on the PUP list.

Denver is without All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga (both ankles), with corner Riley Moss questionable for ribs. The Broncos' secondary is thinner than usual. Smith-Njigba being available is exactly the matchup Seahawks fans wanted on a Thursday night.

Thursday at Mile High

Kickoff is Thursday night on Prime Video at Empower Field at Mile High. Seattle wears throwbacks in back-to-back weeks starting here. Sam Darnold has his top target lined up against a Denver defense that already ruled Surtain and Hufanga out after three straight non-participation days.

The Seahawks also signed Velus Jones Jr. back to the 53-man roster for running back depth with Charbonnet and Jadarian Price unavailable, but the Thursday story for the offense still runs through Smith-Njigba. Macdonald's short-week message was simple: the guys who practiced full are playing.

Seahawks fans spent two days watching practice reports for one word on JSN. Full. No designation. Good to go. Now the only question left is how many times he wins the ball in thin air.